The Effect of Self-Sufficiency on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption of China's Rural Households

Abstract

Multivariate analysis of variance and econometric analysis are used in conjunction to analyze China's rural household consumption behavior across households that differ in the level of self-sufficiency relative to the production/purchase of fruits and vegetables. There is a significant difference in consumption patterns for different households with different levels of self-sufficiency. Households that purchase but do not produce fruits and vegetables exhibit a notably more market-oriented price responsive behavior. The consumption decisions of households that produce fruits and vegetables, but do not purchase them, are influenced more heavily by implicit income effects than by implicit price effects.